tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 22 18:26:44 1998
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Re: Poetry
mujang Eduardo Fonseca:
>>Thus we see the common admonition against trying to translate poetry...
>...But if I stop in the first obstacle I'll never walk by myself.
If you insist on walking through a field strewn with boulders and riddled
with pits, you'll keep encountering things that will stop you. Better to
choose a well-kept yard with a minimum of obstacles in order to practice
your first steps. :-)
It's always so tempting to try to translate something which has a powerful
effect on you, but it's usually extremely frustrating as well. I know it
can be boring to say simple things -- but one *does* have to learn to walk
before one can run across a vacant lot without tripping over the rocks and
the gopher holes.
Three years ago, when I was first learning Klingon, I complained about the
lack of challenge in saying {moQ Doq} "The ball is red." The funny thing
is that I got it backwards -- and that's what convinced me of the importance
of knowing and practicing the basics before trying to get fancy.
-- ghunchu'wI'